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How To Make Your Own Dream Catcher

ByThe house that never rests | On February 01,20 | 0 Comment

Dream catchers nowadays come in many different shapes and sizes, and are becoming an incredibly popular decor choice. In Native American culture, dream catchers were believed to catch and trap bad dreams, whilst allowing good dreams to pass through its spiders web design, and drift into the heads of those sleeping!

I have always LOVED dream catchers. I don’t know if it’s the feathers, spiderweb design or the belief that they really do catch bad dreams – whatever the reason is, I really do love them.

They are great hung in the bedroom, but also look just as great hung anywhere within your home, office or even in your garden. They are even beautiful enough to make a perfect gift for family or friends.

Seeing as I am currently creating the perfect office/craft room space for myself I decided to make one to hang in the window.

How to make a dream catcher:

Get an embroidery hoop: I started off by getting a 10″ embroidery hoop and choosing which yarn I would like to use.
Choose some yarn: I chose a yarn I purchased from Dunelm.
Starting anywhere on the hoop I tied a knot using the yarn.
Wrap the yarn: I then began to wrap my yarn around the hoop. Using small amounts of glue, and also clips to help hold the yarn in place. I continued all the way around until the whole of the hoop was covered in yarn, i.e. back to the starting point.
Once the hoop was covered in the yarn, I then tied a knot to finish. I trimmed off the unwanted yarn and applied glue to hold in place.
Leave to dry: The hoop was then left for 15 minutes for the glue to dry.
Begin to weave: Some yarn was then tied in a double knot to the yarn on the hoop, with glue and a clip to help hold in position. I then began to weave some yarn to form a pattern. This was done by looping the yarn around the hoop and then back over itself. I made sure That the yarn was pulled tight to secure its position before moving on each time.
This was continued until I was back at the starting point. I tied a knot to secure the position to finish this row.
Continue to weave: The 2nd row was then weaved using a different colour yarn. The rows were continued in different colours, keeping the yarn pulled tight at all times to help keep the positioning secure. The middle then became too small to continue. I tied a double knot at the end to secure its position. I cut away the unwanted yarn.

The Sun Catches The Dream Catcher Nicely In Its Position!

I Then Began To Decorate The Dream Catcher

Adding ribbon: I cut some ribbon to my chosen length needed. This was then glued in position at the bottom of the dream catcher. I used two different coloured ribbons.
Drying time: Time was given for the glue on the ribbons to dry. I used clips to help secure in place whilst the glue dried.
Cut the ribbon: When the glue had dried, I then cut each ribbon in to three. Feathers were then added via a knot in the ribbon.
Decorate: To the hoop area I added coloured gems using glue. I also added glittered feathers attached with yarn. To the web area I added Rhinestone daisy flowers using glue.
Making the hanging hoop: I cut some yarn long enough to make a hanging hoop. This was attached by each end of the yarn being tied in a triple knot to the hoop, leaving enough yarn to then hang and hold the dream catcher.
Complete: Once all glue was dried, I then removed all of the clips. It was then ready to hang in position in the window area of my office/craft room.

I am still in the process of adding to my office/craft room slowly. I recently made a pom pom cushion which adds a lovely splash of colour to my space. I also upcycled an old photo frame which is now in use in my office/craft room. This is a room in our house that is currently a work in progress and I am very much enjoying turning into my very own space.

Seeing as I spend most of each day in this room, I want to make it as comfortable and cheerful as possible.

I can now daydream away all I want….and just hope all my dreams come true!

Do you love dream catchers?

crafts, Handmade, project

Handmade Pom Pom Cushion

ByThe house that never rests | On January 31,20 | 0 Comment

Do you love pom poms? I absolutely love them. I have recently been hand making and adding colourful items to my craft room. This is a room that I spend a lot of my time in, so I want it as colourful and cheerful as possible. I would like my room to have as many handmade items in it as possible.

I chose to make a cushion for my craft room as I suffer with a bad back, and I thought the support of a cushion when spending hours on end sat crafting away would be a huge help. I then chose to add pom poms to add an extra splash of colour and cheer to my room.

A trip to the craft store was needed

I used a mixture of wool and yarn. Most being from The Women’s Institute collection, who have a colourful high-quality range. They also had an offer on of 3 for 2 at my time of purchase. I purchased mine in Hobbycraft and a donation from my purchase was stated on the packaging to be given to the National Federation of Women’s Institutes.

One purchase that was a huge time saver, this was a pom pom maker. This nifty little gadget made pom pom making so much easier.

The making of my pom poms:

I started off buy working out what size cushion I plan on making.
Then roughly worked out how many pom poms I think I would need. This was done buy cutting out a template with paper, making a pom pom to size and then working out the measurements from there.
It was worked out that I would need roughly 140 pom poms for my 24″ square cushion.
From there I got busy making pom poms, using my pom pom maker.
I did not make the pom poms all at once. I made them over a good few day’s using a variety of lovely colours.

How to use the pom pom maker:

Get your pom pom maker and chosen wool/yarn.
Put your pom pom maker together like so.
Wrap your wool/yarn around one side like so and then cut.
Repeat on the other side.
Once you have done that close your pom pom maker
You then cut your wool/yarn in the gap like so.
Then cut off a piece of the wool/yarn long enough to tie a knot in the center like so.
Once you have secured your pom pom with a tight knot, open the pom pom maker. You should then have a lovely pom pom!

The making of the cushion:

Once the pom poms were all made I then made my cushion using Calico fabric, which I cut two 26″ squares out of.
The two squares were then ironed and then pinned together down three of the four sides.
The three sides were then sewn together, leaving an opening end.
A zip was then sewn onto the opening end.

Attaching the pom poms to my handmade cushion:

When it came to attaching the pom poms I was going to sew them on until I realised how many I had made. So I opted to gluing them in position instead!
Using a good fabric glue I began to glue the pom poms into position. Using a piece of cardboard I inserted it inside the cushion cover to prevent the cushion fabric from sticking together during the process.
Once the pom poms were in position I allowed time for the glue to set and the pom poms to take hold in position.
I then inserted the cushion insert inside the cushion cover.
I ruffled my pom poms a little to fluff them back up as some of them went flat during the gluing process. I then I cut of any straggly bits and removed any loose bits

Once complete, my cushion was proudly put in place in my office/craft room.

Do you love pom poms?

crafts, Handmade

Upcycled Photo Frame

ByThe house that never rests | On January 24,20 | 0 Comment

Recently we were having a good sort out at home as we were due to have the decorators come in whilst we were away on holiday. It was surprising the amount of clutter zones we had!

We had boxes to hand in at the local charity shop, a few items were passed on to other family members, and I lost count on the number of trips to the local tip. But some items were too good to just chuck away. We had some lovely photo frames that we have had for many years now and it would be sad to just dispose of them. The thinking cap went on!

The rescue began for the frame

There are so many ways in which you can upcycle photo frames. Seeing as I am in the process of creating my own space in the office and craft room, I thought I would make use of it in this room. I am often found in this room for hours on end. It is a room I want to make bright and cheerful…..my own little space!

Amongst the pile of items found there was also an old wooden cork notice board that we had purchased a while back and hadn’t gotten around to using as yet. This is an item that would be very useful in my office and craft room but I thought it could do with a little brightening up.

An idea was then thought of for the frame

An idea then came to me. how about using the frame to upcycle it and make a pin board?

I measured my frame and then the cork board – the cork board needed 10cms cutting off the width which wasn’t a problem.

How I made my pin board using my old photo frame:

I started by cutting off the 10cms from the cork board. Once done, I double checked it fitted inside the frame.
The frame had the glass removed and was then sanded lightly. I wanted to keep the gold on the inside edge.
Paint colours were then chosen, along with fabric (fat quarters).
The frame was then prepped with masking tape to help save the gold on the inside edge. And to also separate each section I wish to paint.

Two paint colours were chosen. I wanted the middle section a different colour to the inside and outside edge. The first colour was then painted on to the inside edge. These were done in pink.
Because we were going over a dark colour we needed 3 to 4 coats of paint. Allowing each coat of paint time to dry before doing the next.
Once the first section was done we then moved on to the middle section. This was painted in a dark lilac colour. Once again we needed 3 to 4 coats of paint. Allowing each coat of paint time to dry before doing the next.
We then moved on to the final section which was to be the same as the first. Painted in pink, with 3 to 4 coats of paint.

Prep work was then done with the fabric

With it going into my craft room, I thought I would add some fabric. What better way to do this than add some fat quarters?

How I added my fat quarters:

I chose to add two different colours. One pack was a purple variety, the other was a raspberry variety. I thought the colours would blend in well with the colours on the frame.
The first thing I needed to do was cut the fat quarters down in size.
Once cut to size I then ironed them.
They was then positioned in place.
Once I was happy with the positioning I then pinned them together.
Then using my sewing machine I sewed them together.